Energy Consumption and Greenhouse Gas Emissions of Nickel Products

Abstract

The primary energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions from nickel smelting products have been assessed through case studies using a process model based on mass and energy balance. The required primary energy for producing nickel metal, nickel oxide, ferronickel, and nickel pig iron is 174 GJ/t alloy (174 GJ/t contained Ni), 369 GJ/t alloy (485 GJ/t contained Ni), 110 GJ/t alloy (309 GJ/t contained Ni), and 60 GJ/t alloy (598 GJ/t contained Ni), respectively. Furthermore, the associated GHG emissions are 14 tCO2-eq/t alloy (14 tCO2-eq/t contained Ni), 30 t CO2-eq/t alloy (40 t CO2-eq/t contained Ni), 6 t CO2-eq/t alloy (18 t CO2-eq/t contained Ni), and 7 t CO2-eq/t alloy (69 t CO2-eq/t contained Ni). A possible carbon emission reduction can be observed by comparing ore type, ore grade, and electricity source, as well as allocation strategy. The suggested process model overcomes the limitation of a conventional life cycle assessment study which considers the process as a ‘black box’ and allows for an identification of further possibilities to implement sustainable nickel production.

Life Cycle Modelling of Extraction and Processing of Battery Minerals—A Parametric Approach

“…Their assessments yield a GWP of nickel-metal at 13 kg of CO 2 e/kg Ni. In Wei et al [46], the GWP for nickel-metal ranges from 7 to 16 kg of CO 2 e/kg Ni. Similar studies evaluate the GWP at 26.9 kg of CO 2 e/kg Ni for nickel produced in China [47] and 11.4-16.1 kg of CO 2 /kg Ni for nickel produced in Australia [48].…”

“…For example, ore grades relate to the energy use in mining and concentration based on inverse relationships provided in Sevillano [70], Calvo et al [71], Valero and Valero [72], and Valero et al [73]. Wei et al [46] defined recovery efficiency is defined as the ratio between the element content in the ith process and the element content in the (i − 1)th process.…”

“…The base inventory for nickel mining and concentration uses life cycle inventories from the Nickel Institute [44,45], Wei et al [46], and Eckelman [85]. We parameterize the energy for mining nickel ores as a function of the type of mine based on a calibrated value from Eckelman [85].…”

Szklary nickel deposit — a review and introduction to attempts in hydrometallurgical processing

“…The average price of nickel in recent years remains at a stable and high level. More than half of the recently produced nickel is consumed in the production of stainless steel (Wei et al 2020). However, the rising demand for nickel, cobalt, lithium, and rare earths, mainly due to the development of battery production for electric vehicles is highly possible (Campagnol et al 2017).…”

“…The planning of mining investment needs special attention to environmental aspects (Wei et al 2020). From the significant aspects, two are first to be met: a circular economy and a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions (Delevingne et al 2020;Wei et al 2020;European Comission 2019).…”